


True

by jitteryfinch



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Cotton Candy Garnet, Crystal Gems, F/F, First Meetings, Gen, Rebellion, Renegade Pearl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 12:58:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16933683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jitteryfinch/pseuds/jitteryfinch
Summary: Rose Quartz lied first. After that, they each took a turn.





	True

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm new to ao3 so please kudos and comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

_Don’t stare, don’t stare, don’t stare!_ _  
_   
It was Pearl’s very first time alone with the new recruit. Being left to her own devices, without ~~Pink~~ Rose was One Thing, and the little gem was still adjusting to her newfound independence, but leaving her with the fusion was another thing entirely. She pretended to busy herself by polishing her sword, attempting to keep up her stoic and aloof facade, but she couldn’t keep her eyes from flicking in the other gem’s direction every so often.   
  
She was just _sitting_ there.   
  
The fusion was calm as can be, her three eyes gazing contentedly at the Earth’s wooded scenery, smirking at nothing in particular now and again. Her fingers tapped absently against the rock upon which she sat, following a melody that Pearl wished she could hear, too.   
  
What could be going on in her head?   
  
After a few moments of silence, she could take it no longer. Her curiosity (a concept quite novel for a Pearl- she’d never been allowed to wonder before, and liked it tremendously) could just about cause her to burst. She cleared her throat a tad awkwardly, hoping to get her companion’s attention, but as soon as she opened her mouth to speak...   
  
“Erm...”   
  
_Stars, what was her name?!_   
  
“...you, what should I call you?”   
  
By now the fusion’s eyes are fixed on her, and Pearl can’t help but feel a little out of her depth. This gem had such a sense of stability about her, incredibly uncommon even in fusions of the same gem, and her eyes held something that made Pearl’s new longing for discovery burn.   
  
“Garnet.” Her answer was short, but she gave another one of those smirks, and Pearl kept her fascinated gaze on her despite how shy she felt inside.   
_  
_ _You’re the renegade now. Act like it._ _  
_ _  
_ “...Garnet.” She repeated, letting the name roll around her mouth. “Welcome aboard.”   
  
Garnet nodded her thanks, but didn’t turn away, seeming to know Pearl isn’t quite finished.   
  
“I’d like to ask you something.” Pearl managed.   
  
“Shoot.”   
  
“...what made you do it?”   
  
Three eyes blink in perfect unison. “I had to. It feels new and right and natural.” Garnet’s arms wrapped about her waist, but she wasn’t closing herself off. She was simply holding herself. “We feel... I feel happier than I’ve ever been. I’m complete.”   
  
How could she explain that she was something entirely new, too? That perhaps she and Garnet were different than anyone else and yet almost exactly the same?   
  
“I know how you feel.” Pearl blurted out before she could stop herself, her sword clattering to the ground as her hands clasp together. “I- I mean, that’s how I feel on this planet. That’s what I meant, actually, I was asking why you chose Earth.” She clarified, uncomfortably aware of the blush spreading over the bridge of her nose.   
  
“Oh.” Garnet snickered, shrugging a shoulder. “Same answer, then. Earth is where I’m me. I’m staying me, and I’m staying here. Let’s hear yours, then.”   
  
“...mine?”   
  
“Your reason to fight for Earth.” Garnet clarified, speaking slowly even as a brow raises expectantly. “There’s a hundred stories about you. The Rubies used to make up the most ridiculous theories, I’ve got to know which one is true.”   
  
Pearl would be squirming in discomfort now, completely tongue-tied without any sort of lie prepared, but she’d latched onto one particular part of Garnet’s comment.   
  
“Stories? Other gems talk about me?” The little gem was aghast, one hand settling lightly on her chest.   
  
“You’re joking.” Garnet tested, arching an eyebrow. When Pearl’s demeanor didn’t change, she laughed, and it is a full and rich sound. “You! The only Pearl in Homeworld history to ever defect from its owner.”   
  
_But I didn’t defect. I’m still following her orders._

 Pearl shrugged a shoulder, hoping to play off her discomfort as modesty, and quickly changed the subject.  
  
“You were a Ruby and a Sapphire, right?”   
  
“I am. Was. Am.” Garnet crinkled her nose and shook it off. “Yes.”   
  
“Do you still have future vision?”   
  
“...yes.”   
  
The smaller gem wet her lips, her eyes flicking around before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. “Do we... do we win?” She asked, and she cannot help the hopeful tilt of her eyebrows nor the fearful tightening of her lips.   
  
“Erm...” Garnet paused, mouth slightly open as she struggled to find what to say. Her eyes clouded over before squeezing shut tight. “Hold on.” She mumbled, one hand coming to cover all of her eyes. After an agonizing moment or two, she lowered it, fixing Pearl with a resolute but unreadable gaze. “We will see victory.”   
  
For a moment, Pearl’s face stayed vacant, wonder striking her still. When she finally speaks, her voice was scarcely a whisper.   
“We’re going to win.” Her chest heaved with short gasps before her breath is finally released in a soundless laugh. “I — I can’t believe it! Garnet, we’re going to win!” Pearl gripped onto the fusion’s forearm in excitement before pirouetting away to look out over the horizon.   
  
She did not see how shamefully Garnet averted her eyes. The fusion didn’t even look up until she heard Pearl whisper, in the smallest voice she’d ever heard.   
  
“I’m going to be free.”

 

“I thought you were free.” Garnet interrupted her train of thought, and she whirled around, mouth half open and a blush already kissing the highs of her cheeks.

 

“I am. I am, right now, but if we lost...” Her hands curled delicately around her own arms, and for a moment she is certain the illusion is shattered, that no one- least of all the incredible being before her- could ever believe that such a frightened, weak little thing like herself could really be the daring and defiant renegade-but she took a deep breath and cast her fears aside. “It doesn’t matter. If we’re going to win, it doesn’t matter.” She rolled her shoulders back, once again the picture of confidence, and glanced sideways at Garnet.

 

“...right?”


End file.
